Last Stand of the 44th at Gandamak, 1842 William Barnes Wollen (Source)
My brother-in-arms across the pond had this great post the other day. Made me think it did. The West has had its great empires: the Macedonians of Alexander, the Romans, the Spaniards, the French, the Germans and of course our own forebears, the British. Some exploited the lands they conquered, some brought peace and prosperity and a legacy of freedom to the lands they held so long. Great Britain was once the Motherland to our own land and to our brothers and sisters to the north. Think of some of the countries where Tommy Atkins soldiered and where British commerce held sway. The United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the largest democracy - India. Yes, there was strife, there were iniquities and no small measure of suffering for the native population. The original peoples of most of those countries were displaced and marginalized for the most part. With the notable exception of India. Commerce followed the flag in those days. The never ending search for new markets and new sources of raw materials drove this small island nation ever outwards. Leaving many a legacy for those who followed. Of all the empires which ever flourished and then passed into history, the British Empire, for all its faults, was, in my opinion, the best. Mankind has benefited greatly from the legacy of those shopkeepers, sailors and soldiers. History is fact. People may have opinions but what was remains and cannot be rewritten by those with an agenda. The Brits paid the price on many an occasion. Still they soldier on...
Remnants of an Army Elizabeth Butler Depicting the arrival of assistant surgeon, William Brydon, at Jalalabad on 13 January 1842. (Source)
The story behind the paintings...
The 44th Foot fought in the First Anglo-Afghan War and the regiment initially formed the advance and later the rearguard on the retreat from Kabul. After a continuous running battle in two feet of snow, the force had been reduced to fewer than forty men. On 13 January 1842, the few survivors of the decimated regiment made a last stand against Afghan tribesmen on a rocky hill near the village of Gandamak. The ground was frozen and icy. The men had no shelter and were starving. Only a dozen of the men had working muskets, the officers their pistols and a few unbroken swords. When the Afghans surrounded them on the morning of the 13th the Afghans announced that a surrender could be arranged. "Not bloody likely!" was the bellowed answer of one British sergeant. Only a few men survived the massacre. Most notable was Captain Thomas Souter, who by wrapping the regimental colors around himself was taken prisoner, being mistaken by the Afghans as a high military official, also Sergeant Fair and seven other soldiers were taken prisoner. One more, Surgeon William Brydon, made it back to the British garrison at Jalalabad on the afternoon of the same day. The only member of the 44th to get away... W&W
May there always be an England! (And a Scotland, an Ireland and a Wales for that matter.)
One of the members of my tribe lost his beloved dog the other day. One minute he was there and then some thirty minutes later he was gone. Toby died in his sleep, at home, where he was loved and cherished. Would that I could have such an ending. Most of us have had pets we loved with all the intensity one can muster for a fellow creature. They are loving, each in their own way, and quite patient with their human companions. When they pass, the light is a bit dimmer, there is a little less joy in the places they left behind. No one who has ever lost a beloved dog or cat will ever forget that moment, just after you realize that they are gone. The world stops for a moment, the sadness is nearly unbearable, then you start remembering the times you had together. The pain never goes away, but it lessens with time. The memories of the time together last forever. And ever.
Epitaph to a Dog
Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18th, 1808.
When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below:
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Master’s own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour’d falls, unnotic’d all his worth,
Deny’d in heaven the Soul he held on earth:
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debas’d by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on, it honors none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one—and here he lies.
-Lord Byron
Note: One thing I will say in contradiction to this wonderful poem, we will see our beloved four-legged friends again someday. I cannot believe that Our Lord, who loves us so, would let us be separated long from our faithful companions.
Surprise! Tuesday's semi-regular programming was pre-empted by Sarge's pre-operative post so I deferred to Wednesday. It's my own fault though. I've been falling down on my job as a part-time pithy political blogger here on the Chant, but fortunately Sarge is a very understanding employer. I've got the barest seedling of a political post in my brain, but it's still got some germinating to go before it's ready to harvest for you. Wow! How's that for some plant-based metaphor? Too much? Yeah, probably. Maybe one more- politics and manure comes to mind! We'll see if I can do better when I actually have that post fully grown. Until that time, you get trivia. Today we're focusing on Naval quotes. No, not ones from old dead guys. That can be a bit dry and boring and you hear enough from old guys on here anyway, so I'm focusing on quotes from Navy movies- some good, some bad. I'll list the quote, maybe with the character's name or another hint, and you guess the flick. By the way, the movie posters won't be related to the quote below it.
ActofValor.com
I'll start with an easy one: 1. England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England. 2. Edward R. Murrow: "This is London, Ed Murrow reporting. This island, which is no stranger to bad tiding, received news today that HMS Hood largest warship in the British fleet and pride of the British navy, has been sunk by the German battleship..." For that one, it might help to guess what I left out of that quote. Or, if you know your WWII history, who sank the Hood? 3. CO: "Rickover gave me my command, a checklist, a target, and a button to push. All I had to know was how to push it, and they'd tell me when. They seem to want you know why." XO: " I would hope they'd want us all to know why, sir." If you know who Rickover was, that might help you figure out which movie that was from. If not, here's another quote: CO: Speaking of horses did you ever see those Lipizzaner stallions. XO: What? CO: From Portugal. The Lipizzaner stallions. The most highly trained horses in the world. They're all white? XO: Yes, sir. CO: "Yes, sir" you're aware they're all white or "Yes, sir" you've seen them? XO: Yes, sir I've seen them. Yes, sir I was aware that they're are all white. They are not from Portugal; they're from Spain and at birth, they're not white; they're black. Sir. 4. LT Alex Hopper: You men have given so much to your country, and no one has the right to ask any more of you... but I'm asking. Old Salt: What do you need, son? LT Alex Hopper: I need to borrow your boat. Too obscure? Would a location help? Old Salt Navigator: Sir, are we really firing on Oahu? Old Salt: Sure looks that way. Old Salt Navigator: Holy shit!
By the way, the movie wasn't filmed in Missouri...
5. Going old school here: Von Stolberg: I should have died many times, Captain, but I continue to survive somehow. This time it was your fault. Captain Murrell: I didn't know. Next time I won't throw you the rope. Von Stolberg: I think you will.
Like I said, that one predates me, but I saw it one Sunday afternoon a few years back on some cable channel. The chess match between the two caught my attention and I'm glad it did.
6. Susan, as she walks through a metal detector at a DC ball: Thank God its not a bullshit detector or none of us would get in."
Too tough?
Scott Pritchard: "Tom is the one who saw you at Susan's. He's known about you all along, isn't that right? We do know what that means. If Commander Farrell is the man who was with Miss Atwell, then Commander Farrell is the man who killed Miss Atwell. And we know that the man who killed Miss Atwell is Yuri. Therefore, Commander Farrell IS Yuri, quod erat demonstrandum."
7. LCDR Dodge: Little young for an XO? XO Pascal: Excellence knows no age, Sir! LCDR Dodge:Speaking of age, what do you think about our boat, Pascal? XO Pascal: I feel I need a tetanus shot just from looking at it. The only thing holding her together, are the bird droppings, sir.
How about another?
"Sonar" Lovacelli: [Whispering, and pointing straight up] Sir, it's the Orlando. Someone just dropped 45 cents. LCDR Dodge: Are you sure? "Sonar" Lovacelli: Oh, yeah. A quarter and 2 dimes.
IMDB
8. Miss Haruko Sakura: Damn it, I'm an American! What makes us different from German-Americans or Italian-Americans? Captain Garth: Pearl Harbor... I guess. Or Officer: Send this right away. Pvt. Dombrowski: Hey chief what's this? [a message saying that their pure water condenser is malfunctioning Pvt. Dombrowski: There ain't nothing wrong with our pure water condenser. I was just over there. Officer: [annoyed] Dombrowski, *send it*!
PT-109
9. "Mr. Ambassador, you have nearly a hundred naval vessels operating in the North Atlantic right now. Your aircraft has dropped enough sonar buoys so that a man could walk from Greenland to Iceland to Scotland without getting his feet wet. Now, shall we dispense with the bull?" or "What's the matter Commander? You don't like flying, huh? Aw, this is nothing! You should've been with us five, six months ago! Whoa! You talk about puke! We ran into a hailstorm over the Sea of Japan. Everybody's retching their guts out! The pilot shot his lunch all over the windshield, and I barfed on the radio! Shorted it out completely! And it wasn't that lightweight stuff either, it was that chunky industrial weight puke!" (offers him the candy bar he's been eating).
AmericanRhetoric
10. "Sir, I signed up to be a fighter pilot. I didn't want to be a cop. And I certainly didn't want to go walking a beat on a neighborhood nobody cares about."
11. Ens. Keith Larson to Chief Torpedoman: They wouldn't give me five minutes to consumate my marriage. Five minutes!
or Marine Maj. Coonan: How deep does this thing go? LCDR Mike Dahlgren: Oh, she'll go all the way to the bottom if we don't stop her.
12. "I looked down from our bridge and saw our captain's palm tree! Our trophy for superior achievement! The Admiral John J. Finchley award for delivering more toothpaste and toilet paper than any other Navy cargo ship in the safe area of the Pacific."
13. CO: "Movie officer, what's the film tonight?" Pilot: "They Shoot horses, Don't They, Sir!" CO: "Any skin?" Pilot: "No Sir." CO: "Cancel it!"
14. Captain Yelland: Alert 1 this is Eagle 1, What've you got? F-14 Pilot: Two Japanese Zeroes, sir. Captain Yelland: Two what? F-14 Pilot: Two Trophy Class Mitsubishi A6Ms in original condition, complete with all markings. I mean, they look brand new sir!
15. "A Chief Petty Officer shall not drink. However, if he should drink he shall not get drunk. If he should get drunk, he shall not stagger. And if he should stagger, he shall not fall. And if he should fall, he will fall in such a manner as to cover up his rank so that passerbyes will think he is an officer."
If that's too obscure, how about this?
"The Navy Diver is not a fighting man, he is a salvage expert. If it is lost underwater, he finds it. If it's sunk, he brings it up. If it's in the way, he moves it. If he's lucky, he will die young, 200 feet beneath the waves, for that is the closest he'll ever get to being a hero." Ok, enough for today.
1. Master and Commander (2003) as spoken by Capt. Jack Aubrey, played by Russell Crowe. 2. Sink the Bismark (1960) 3. Crimson Tide (1995) 4. Battleship (2012) 5. The Enemy Below (1957) 6. No Way Out (1987) 7. Down Periscope (1996) 8. Midway (1976) 9. The Hunt for Red October (1990) 10. Behind Enemy Lines (2001) 11. U-571 (2000) 12. Mister Roberts (1995) 13. Flight of the Intruder (1991) 14. The Final Countdown (1980) 15. Men of Honor (2000)
So I paid a visit to a surgeon on Monday to chat about the situation vis à vis the diverticula resident in my lower intestine. The doc was hinting at the need to have this situation rectified surgically. (Did I really just type "rectified"?) While he was explaining the risks (minimal as I understand it) I was waving my hand in the air exclaiming, "Yes, yes, cut them out. Get rid of them, I am tired of these annual episodes which cost me time at work. Not to mention the pain." "Yes, they can be painful..." the surgeon started to say. "Didn't I say don't mention the pain?" Though he is not of this land originally, he's a pretty sharp guy. (Did I just type "sharp" while referring to a surgeon?) That is, he got the joke but only paused and moved on to the next topic. Which were, his people will contact my people, er, me, they'll contact me, to inform us (again I meant me) of when the surgery will be. What to wear, when to get there and the nasty business preparation required for the surgery. One might say that this will be an occasion when I'm not full of it. Shh! You know what I meant. I'll be here all week, don't forget to tip your wait staff... Oh, I'm sure the surgery will be nothing like that depicted above. For one thing, it's the wrong side of the abdomen and the doc swears they'll put me to sleep beforehand. He started to mention that a urologist would be stopping by to... "I really don't need to know that Doc. Spare me the gory details and just knock me out and do your thing." I wonder if they're gonna make me read tech manuals to put me to sleep. That usually works. This is, by the way, a return gig. I've played this venue before. No outpatient stuff for me this time, they guarantee a five to nine day stay. Oh wait, that's not necessarily a good thing, neh? I shall keep you posted. Pun intended.
A comment from the Rev and this video from Fighter Sweep got me to thinking about Alaska as I was deciding what to post about this week, so blame them if you don't like it.
So, There I was….*
Chief of the JTF Training Branch, USCINCPAC. I’m a brand new LtCol with the second best
view from an office window in the whole headquarters. Standing there I could see Diamond Head to
the East and Barber’s Point to the West.
The reason I had that view as a lowly LtCol was viewing it meant straddling a hole
in the floor (while CINCPAC was a Joint Command, it was heavily Navy, so….) Deck caused by termites. The building was
condemned, but we were using it while the main Headquarters building was being
enlarged and refurbished.
It’s January, the temperature that morning on the way to
work was 51. I had the top up on my
Mazda RX-7 which was unusual, but not as unusual as passing a car with a load
of Hawaiians all dressed up in Parkas.
My son, in 3rd grade at an off base school, asked if he
needed to wear one. I said no. He was the only one that didn’t.
Once the sun rose, the temperature quickly climbed to a
quite pleasant 72 degrees with a gentle breeze to keep the humidity in
check. In short, a delightful Hawaiian
day.
I, however, am going TDY to a
planning conference for an upcoming training exercise the command is
holding. The conference and exercise
will be held at Elmendorf AFB Alaska.
From the amount of snow on the ground, I'd say this photo was taken in June or July Wikipedia
I had been to Elmendorf once before in my career. As I was enroute to my first operational tour
in Korea, the contract 707 (yes, this was immediately after the Pterodactyls were phased
out of troop transport duty) stopped there for a refueling and broke. Spent the night in the terminal in my Class A’s,
shivering like crazy.
Not even sure it
was night, just that it was dark. And
Cold!
So, I knew about Elmendorf in the winter. Dark.
Cold.
12FS F-15 being worked on by COLD crew chiefs. USAF Picture
The flight from Honolulu routes through Seattle and then
into Anchorage. Unlike this guy ,
my plan is to have my warm clothing in a carry on and change into it at
Seattle.
I arrive in Seattle, head to the men’s room and put on long
johns, jeans, wool shirt, sweater, and my down ski jacket, then exit and head to the
gate. A very pleasant flight on Alaskan
Air and we arrive at Anchorage.
As I am
monitoring the pilot’s approach and landing (from seat 24A), I note two things. It is dark.
And appears Cold.
Fortunately, Anchorage seems to have discovered jetways in
the ensuing 15 years since my previous arrival and I am cool, but comfortable as I
exit the jet and enter the terminal. I
head over to the Rental Car counter to pick up my rental, fill out the
paperwork and ask if there’s a bus.
“No, Sir, your car is right outside.”
“Okay”
I put on my jacket, hat and gloves and step outside. Several years later “Cool Runnings”, came
out. There’s a scene in the movie that
flashed me back to this moment.
I look for the Row and Spot number that my car is parked
in. Some quick calculations by my
rapidly freezing brain returns the knowledge that if my car isn’t in the
farthest row, it is directly across from it.
When the Agent said “Right outside”; he meant “Right! Outside!”
By the time I get to my car, I was the model they used for
Sanka in the film.
I get in the car and get it fired up and the heat going full
blast and manage to find my way to Elmendorf.
The planning conference goes off as planned (pun intended), lasting for two days. On the third day, I’m back
at the Airport and I realize that it has been Dark and Cold without any visual
sighting of that astral object known as Sol.
It’s now Mid-March, and I’m headed back to Elmendorf for the
Final Planning Conference. This time I
have a traveling companion, my newly assigned Yeoman. The Yeoman is on his first assignment out of
basic training which was the first time he’d been out of Mississippi in his
life. Good kid, and hard worker. So the third state he’d been in in his life
was Hawaii and now for number 4, he’ll visit Alaska.
The first thing I notice on landing is the sun does actually
shine in Alaska. The second would be
there actually is earth under the snow, not just more snow. Oh! And there are Mountains!
Gratuitous photo of F-22 used to show picture of Mountains USAF Photo
We stop by the Rental Counter, and fill out the paperwork
and get directions to our car. “Right
outside.” Yeah right!
Head out of the building find the slot and
parked in it is a Yugo. I glance over at
the Yeoman (he’d made the reservations).
“Sir, you said you wanted a cheap car.”
Note to self, choose words wisely.
The only difference was ours was Orange (and Rustier!)
Wikipedia
We get the beast fired up and head to Elmendorf. The first day of the conference is over, and
as we leave the building, I’m rewarded with a very nice sunset. The Yeoman and I head into town to get some
chow and as we’re headed back out to the base, it is almost completely dark,
just a little light on the horizon.
I’m
driving (I’m a fighter pilot, I’m driving) and approaching a T
intersection. I pull to a stop and need
to look for the map which has slid off the console into the back seat.
I’m stopped and reach back for the map when
the Yeoman says “Sir! There’s something
out there!” I’m mostly horizontal
fumbling around for the map so I raise my head til it’s just above the dash and
look out the windshield. I don’t see
anything and say so.
The Yeoman grabs me and pulls me
back into the seat and points to the top of the windshield. “There!” he says.
I lean forward and look up.
Above me is the belly of a Moose!
I have managed to drive the Yugo (which I believe in the original
Yugoslavian dialect can be translated to “POS constructed from the thinnest
aluminum foil known to man”) under and between the legs of a Moose!
This is a female. We were under a male, don't ask me how I know.
Wikimedia
Fighter Pilot training kicks in.
Maintain Aircraft Control, Check!
Analyze the situation and take proper
action. I’m under a Moose, I need to get
out from under the Moose, and I don’t want to piss it off! Check!
Land as soon as conditions permit, Check!
I slip the Yugo into reverse and gently release the
clutch. The car, miraculously without the grinding of gears which has been a common occurrence with this rental, backs out
of the situation and once well clear, I do my best James Bond getaway turn and
head back the way we came. The Yeoman’s
eyes were wide as pie plates when I told him it was a moose. “You mean, like, Bullwinkle?” Yep,
only bigger!
The exercise has begun and since our responsibility in the
exercise is to build and publish the Campaign Plan, we’ve got some busy and
long days at the start of the exercise.
We don’t get out much. But after
about a week or so, we’re down to 12 on 12 off.
Our shift is over and we walk out of the Ops Center. It’s daylight outside, so we decide to go off
base to get something to eat other than chow hall food.
We get into the rental and head downtown.
(The Yeoman has a better understanding now of the difference between Cheap and
Inexpensive, I just asked him to reserve
a car that would not fit under a moose.)
As we arrive in Downtown Anchorage, I’m enjoying the time we’re
making and the paucity of traffic. We
pull into the downtown area where the tourist maps said all the cool
restaurants are. However, all of them
seem to be closed.
I’m thinking to
myself, “is this a holiday or something?”
No.
It’s bright daylight outside, why is nobody out and about?
I glance at my watch.
0315
12 FS F-15C intercept of a Russian Bear in 2006. On the Fighter Sweep Post linked above, the author mentions the Dirty Dozen was deactivated in 2007. All things must pass. USAF Photo
Bee Balm, proper name Monarda If you look close enough, there's a bee, hard at work.
For some time now our television has sat quietly and seldom is watched. If there's a big local story about an ongoing event, then we'll turn it on. Weather, fire, floods, foes - these are things that get the tube energized. Otherwise it sits, dormant, used to watch the occasional BluRay, not much else. Since we hired some chaps to do the yard work (four Portuguese guys, a Dad and his sons, might be a cousin in there as well, takes them all of a half hour, 'tis impressed I am) I often become a man of leisure on the weekends. Spend my time doing things creative, or not. I do surf the Web of World Wideness quite a bit. Working on this blog, reading other people's blogs and doing research. (For the book, of course. And the blog, I like to have my facts straight when I need them at my beck and call.) Now that I have this very nice camera, I look for opportunities to use it. Normally just around the yard, I should get down to the seashore one of these days. Lots of good stuff there for the camera to take in. Then again lately I've got this diverticulitis thing going on, makes me somewhat grumpy. Can't even have a beer with the meds I'm on. Monday I see a surgeon, hopefully we can rip this annoyance from my guts and I can get on with life. Man do I miss peanuts and sesame seeds. Those little buggers invariably cause my guts to get in an uproar. Sometimes it's caused by nothing at all that I can put my finger on. Harrumph.
Zoomed in view of the lovely bee balm.
While photographing the bee balm I decided to get a close up, the result is almost alien looking. Still beautiful though. I just missed the chance to get a picture of a hummingbird. While trying to set up the shot, another hummingbird zoomed in and drove the first one off. Very territorial I'm thinking. Though the second hummingbird was much smaller, the wee thing was very aggressive. The robins in the backyard are always squabbling as well. There seems to be a dominant male who doesn't like other males hanging around. He's also kinda pissy about other species of bird being in "his" yard as well. We used to have a Northern Mockingbird out back all the time. Hadn't seen him for a while until one day I saw him being chased off by a robin. Nature, red in tooth and claw!
Another bee, hard at work. I don't know what these flowers are called. Ten Shrute bucks to the reader who can identify them!
It was a cool day, unusual for mid-July in these parts. Normally it's hot and muggy, the storm that came through a couple of days ago really mellowed the temperatures and drove the humidity down. Very pleasant, I'll take it.
The Veggie Garden
Things seem to be shaping up in the vegetable garden, I expect a nice crop of peppers, beans and squash. The Missus Herself claims to be notmuch of a gardener. That's kind of like Michelangelo claiming to be not much of a painter.
In the morning, still rather in shock at the death of those four Marines, I read that the sailor who had been wounded passed away. Meanwhile the "authorities" try to determine a motive. I don't think you have to be Hercule Poirot to figure that out. Perhaps it's a coincidence that the murderer was from the Middle East. Anything is possible I suppose. The whole damn mess sickens me. One must be patient I suppose and let the wheels of justice do their thing.
But I digress... And I'm trying to be of good cheer. I'm told that things are seldom as bad as they seem. Yup, sometimes they're worse. So I chill out in my backyard and take time to smell the flowers and watch nature do it's thing. It is most relaxing and enjoyable.
The soothing sound of the waterfall...
One of our miniature Japanese maples, a favorite of mine.
The world goes on, whether we like it or not. I have my sanctuary from the madness, I hope you have one as well. Helps me to stay relatively sane. Good day...
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